Call to improve leisure centre facilities

Castleton Health and Leisure Centre (Formerly Castleton Swimming Baths)

Leisure centres could fall into a state of disrepair and even be forced to close without urgent new investment from government, councils warned on Saturday (28 October).

The Local Government Association, which represents more than 370 councils in England and Wales, says the government will ‘miss a chance to transform the nation’s health’ if it does not inject £400 million in upgrading and renovate leisure infrastructure to support healthy, active communities.

This follows years of funding cuts to councils’ budgets, where between 2010 and 2020, local authorities will have seen reductions of £16 billion to their core government funding. The LGA says the funding gap facing councils will be £5.8 billion by the end of the decade.

Investment in leisure infrastructure would get more people physically active and help to tackle some of the major health issues facing the country, such as obesity, diabetes and heart disease.

The LGA warns that the majority of council-owned sports halls and swimming pools are at risk of becoming 'old and tired' as local authorities’ budgets become increasingly squeezed, leaving them unable to afford the cost of refurbishments – a situation which was seen in Rochdale when the well-used Castleton Swimming Pool, which is over 100-years-old, was forced to close twice after the presence of legionella was discovered.

https://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/138/community-news/111660/castleton-swimming-pool-saved

Replacing the pipework and making the pool safe would have cost in the region of £120,000, so the pool was transferred through a Community Transfer Asset to reopen as Castleton Leisure Centre Limited in September 2017.

https://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/138/community-news/112093/aquabears-to-be-first-users-of-newly-opened-castleton-swimming-pool

Latest figures show that more than 58% of sports halls and 60 per cent of swimming pools are now more than 20-years-old, and a quarter of these have not been refurbished in 20 years.

With many sports halls and swimming pools reaching the end of their 25-year life-cycle, the LGA says government has an opportunity in the Budget to invest new money that 'breathes new life' into the country’s leisure facilities and improves the health of communities.

The submission adds that new funding from government is needed now to avoid having to completely replace facilities, which could cost in the region of £1.5 billion further down the line.

Councillor Gerald Vernon-Jackson, chairman of the LGA’s Culture, Tourism and Sport Board, said: “Leisure facilities are the cornerstone of a physically and mentally healthy community and are used by thousands of families every day.

“They get people active and keep them fit and healthy, which in itself is a major long-term cost saving for the country as it prevents the need for treatment further down the line that in turn puts significant extra pressure on social care and NHS services.

“No-one wants to go to a leisure centre that is old, tired and run down. Councils need to be given the resources to offer the kind of high-standard, modern facilities that the public rightly expects which in turn helps them keep fit and healthy.

“Following significant government cuts to councils’ funding and growing demand for services such as caring for the elderly, protecting children and reducing homelessness, many local authorities can no longer foot the bill of maintaining decent, quality leisure facilities.

“Councils are doing all they can to keep leisure centres up and running, but many are in desperate need of refurbishment.

“Government has a chance in the Autumn Budget to breathe new life into our leisure centres which saves them from falling beyond repair and forcing them to close.”